Moroccan Explorer

10 Days,
Marrakech to Marrakech

A magical Moroccan trip with Topdeck

Itineraries on some departure dates may differ, please select.

Visiting 1 country: Morocco

Feel the magic of the Middle East on Topdeck’s Moroccan Explorer trip, which starts and ends in the cultural hub of Marrakech. Travel to Casablanca, Fes, the Atlas Mountains and more on this memorable exploration of one of the most diverse countries in North Africa. With an overnight stay in the Sahara Desert and a guided tour of the medina in Fes on the cards, this adventure is one for the books!

Itinerary

Day 1:
Marrakech, Morocco

Transfer to your hotel, ditch the map, turn off your phone and get hopelessly lost in a maze of mosaics and souks in the Red City. Then, get acquainted with the gang at tonight’s welcome meeting.

Included today:
Airport transfer

Day 2:
Marrakech

Today is all about the city tour. See the Bahia Palace, visit the Saadian Tombs and then work your way past the snake charmers and sip fresh orange juice in Djemma el-fna square.

Included today:
Marrakech half-day city tour

Meals:
Breakfast

Day 3:
Marrakech to Rabat via Casablanca

Today we visit the Hassan II Mosque – bearer of the world’s largest minaret (210 metres), with a frickin’ laser beam on top. After lunch, head to the UNESCO World Heritage capital of Rabat and paint the town blue in Kasbah des Oudaias.

Included today:
Hassan II mosque in Casablanca
Rabat city tour

Meals:
Breakfast

Day 4:
Rabat to Fes via Volubilis and Meknes

Live la dolce vita in Volubilis, or at least get a good idea of what it was like during Roman times at these well-preserved ruins. Think: historic public buildings dating back a whopping 2,000 years ago. Then, walk through Meknes and go into pattern overdrive in Fes.

Included today:
Volubilis Roman ruins
Visit to Meknes

Meals:
Breakfast

Day 5:
Fes

Mausoleums, mosques and medinas are in order today on a full-day whip around the city with a local guide. Lose yourself in the 9,000 narrow cobbled streets – and world’s largest car-free urban area – in Fes el-Bali, lined with spices, food stalls and tanneries. Or hunt down a hammam for a (body) shine and polish.

Included today:
Day tour of Fes

Meals:
Breakfast
Lunch

Day 6:
Fes to Errachidia via Ifrane and Midelt

She’ll be comin’ over the (Atlas) mountains when she comes today. Adjust to the altitude in Alpine-fresh Ifrane, then carve back through cedar forests to Midelt for lunch and head south to Errachidia.

Meals:
Breakfast

Day 7:
Errachidia to Merzouga Desert Camp

Merzouga looks as if it might be engulfed by the red dunes of the Sahara Desert at any moment. Pull up a pool lounge and savour the view before setting off on camel (optional) to get Berber fever in a desert camp. Climb the dunes and feel your hair stand on end as the sky burns away the last sunlight of the day and melts into a blanket of diamonds. Epic doesn’t even cut it.

Included today:
Overnight in Berber desert camp

Meals:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

Optional activities:
Camel ride (no extra cost)

Day 8:
Merzouga to Dades Gorge via Todra Gorge

Step into your own Roadrunner cartoon today in the rock climber's nirvana of Todra Gorge. With a 3D landscape of imposing orange sandstone peaks, streams and the odd camel playing outside your window today, the trip to Dades Gorge will seem quicker than a coyote.

Meals:
Breakfast
Dinner

Day 9:
Dades Gorge to Marrakech via Ait Ben Haddou

Aït Ben-Haddou is UNESCO World Heritage and ‘Desert Hollywood’ beauty combined on an old caravan route between Sudan and Marrakech. The fortified city’s imposing walls have got nothing on the switchbacks of Tizi n’Tichka Pass, though.

Meals:
Breakfast

Day 10:
Marrakech

Don’t cry into your couscous. The trip might be over after breakfast but your adventure doesn’t have to be.

Meals:
Breakfast

Bucket List Inclusions

Get lost in the Medina of Fes

Visit the Roman ruins of Volubilis

Entrance fees to all sights in the itinerary

Guided tours of Marrakech, Rabat & Fes

Rock the Kasbah in Rabat

Visit Hassan II mosque in Casablanca

Overnight in the Sahara Desert in a Berber camp

More Inclusions

9 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners

8 nights in 3-star hotels (twin-share), 1 night in a desert camp

Arrival transfer from the airport to hotel

Transport in an air-conditioned vehicle

Awesome English-speaking Trip Leader

Group Size

Maximum 15

Transport

Air-conditioned minibus

Start/Finish Times

Start time:Arrive in Marrakech at any time on Day 1. Welcome meeting at 8pm